Starting Monday, March 22, anybody 18 and older living in one of Milwaukee's 10 most vulnerable zip codes will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine.
County Executive David Crowley made the announcement today, listing 10 zip codes that the Centers for Disease Control has identified as having the highest at-risk rates for Covid-19, and also some of the lowest vaccination rates: 53204, 53206, 53205, 53218, 53215, 53223, 53216, 53209, 53224 and 53233.
Adults in those zip codes can go to covidmke.com to make an appointment for a vaccination.
Important Update: Starting this Monday, everyone 18 and older who lives in the 10 MKE zip codes ranking highest on the CDC's social vulnerability index are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Go to https://t.co/PDG9xGJyEF or https://t.co/dFFU9tLqX7 to make an appointment now. pic.twitter.com/aXcgnJczft
— David C. Crowley (@DavidCrowleyWI) March 16, 2021
The move addresses one of the greatest disparities in the state's Covid-19 vaccination efforts: More prosperous zip codes have had much higher rates of vaccination than poorer ones. Milwaukee's numbers, in particular, had lagged the rest of the state, Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement this afternoon.
"Utilizing the ZIP code data is a step in the right direction towards serving our underrepresented neighborhoods of color and instilling confidence that they will be treated with equity and respect in our healthcare system," Crowley tweeted.
The move is made possible by the expanded availability of vaccine doses in the state, which led to another major announcement today. Starting on Monday, March 22, Wisconsin residents age 16 and up with many medical conditions will be eligible for the vaccine. Gov. Tony Evers moved that date up a week from the originally announced date of March 29.
Residents can visit the state’s Covid-19 vaccine options page or call the toll free vaccine hotline at 1-844-684-1064 to learn how and where they can get vaccinated.